As a fishing lure is drawn through the water, it is often advantageous to the fisherman to have the lure mimic the natural swimming patterns or behaviors of a juvenile fish or other food source of the fish to be caught. Typically, this wobbling effect is created through the use of a water deflection device. These water deflection devices range from spoons, to baffles (Rhoten, U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,378), and to spinners (Baker, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,901).
A typical spoon is rotatably attached at one end to the fishing tackle. Then as the tackle is drawn through the water, the spoon deflects water and is able to revolve around the axis defined by the fishing line via a pivoting attachment. A spoon imparts a wobbling motion to the lure as well as creating a visual display (or pressure disturbance in the water) which attracts the attention of fish.
A typical baffle operates by deflecting water (thereby deflecting the lure itself), with the deflection of the lure causing the desired effect (wobbling). An example of a baffle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,742 (Holdaway). Holdaway's fishing hook baffle snaps onto the shaft of a hook. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,406 (Wilson). Wilson's wiggling fishing lure utilizes a dual segmented, generally L-shaped baffle having the lure attaching to the end of one segment and the line attaching to the center of the second segment. Another baffle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,795,075 (Christian). Christian's fishing lure utilizes a bow-shaped baffle able to pivot at the center of the bow.
A typical spinner operates by spinning through the water as the lure is drawn. Spinners tend to do two things: (1) cause the lure to spin, or (2) creates a visual display (or pressure disturbance in the water) which attracts the attention of fish.
Additionally, known is also the use of diving plates or planes for causing a lure to dive as drawn through the water, thereby allowing the lure to be used at deeper depths without resulting to using sinkers or weights to sink the lure. Examples of diving planes can be seen on Davis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,576), Francklyn (U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,014), and Even (U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,622).